What knife magazine do you read most?

I happen to read all three. I don't know enough about knives to skip reading any of them. I always learn something new.
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Blades
 
Lynn, I read Blade the most because it comes out more often. I also subscribe to Knives Illustrated and I haven't seen TK on the book racks at the store I shop in (sorry). I do try to read as much as I can and at times I have looked at some of my older issues and reread things that are now understandable. It was just like getting a free issue. I was told that I was supposed to be in the Dec. issue of Blade so I guess I will wait and see. I hope your advertising does a lot of good for you. If it does, I don't think that I want to for a while. I enjoy knife making too much now to want it to be a job. Take care and I hope you "sell out" in Dallas. Ray Kirk
 
I like Tactical Knives the best as well.
Think everyone likes them.
 
Take care and I hope you "sell out" in Dallas. Ray Kirk
Click to expand...
Ray,
I just got back from Dallas. It was a great show. But then again, they all seem to be great lately. Thanks for asking.


------------------
Lynn Griffith-Tactical Knifemaker
Winner of "Best Tactical Knife" at 1999 PKA show
My website
See my award winning "Spec Ops Tanto" in Gallery 3 of my website
GriffithKN@aol.com
Discounts to Police and Active Duty Military


 
Tactical Knives magazine. Before that, Fighting Knives magazine.


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K. Williams
kel620@aol.com
Modern Arnis Student
 
Isubscribe to Blade and Tactical Knives.I buy Knives Ilustrated when I find an issue that interest me.I'm not much for the art knives because they are very expensive and not to practical. I like a knife that I could use everyday if I wanted to.

lbwheat
 
Knives Illustrated and Tactical Knives. KI suits better to my taste. Would like even more if I had enough money for all those customs... For me many TK's articles are too tactical.

I have never been able to find other magazines. I would like to find a couple of Blades and try them.
 
Actually I like BF better than all of the mags.

1st: KI--I like Bud Lang's approach to his work.

2nd: Blade--Sometimes too artsy-fartsy.

3rd: Distantly TK--Sophomoric writing by and large, squishy editorial policy that doesn't jibe with the articles from (many, but not all) wannabe badasses. Overall, TK is like a Frankensteinian copy of a bad gun-mag made for impressionable hacks. No doubt we'll one day see "Tactical Knives for VIP Protection Teams" or some other complete waste of media (and limited brainpower) as a regular feature. If I want the dreck hyperbole, fantastically stupid "real world" fighting advice, and the mostly cheesy departmental features of a gun mag, I'll buy CH. Even the worst gun rags get around to stepping into the world of knives once in awhile. No, they don't get it right, but then who does in fawning pieces that are inoffensive to the advertising revenue stream? If I want the straight dope on a knife I will ask around here at BF. For pictures and ads in abundance it is KI or Blade, TK can keep the machismo.

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"The cannibals of the West wear suits and ties"--Midnight Oil

[This message has been edited by lawdog (edited 20 September 1999).]
 
Wannabe badasses huh? Just to stand up for the guys who write for TK, I would be interested in knowing what qualifications a good knifewriter should have? Please remember they need to be someone with the time and inclination to actually sit down and write articles. Knowing their way around a camera helps to.
I can’t think of any of the regular TK writers that come across as wannabe badasses. On the other hand, most do have military or law enforcement backgrounds. Several have extensive combat experience and at least one still carries a MP-5 in far away places for the US government. Most of the rest are at least hunters and or experienced backwoodsman.
Hey “Lawdog”, if you are from Salem you must attend the Eugene show from time to time. Why don’t you stop by the TK table and say hi!

 
I read them all, when I can find them. I used to subscribe to Blade, TK, and KI but I won't renew this year. I guess I'm in the minority, but TK isn't my favorite. They don't seem to get into detail and there is very little criticism. KI and Blade are better, but Blade touts its show a bit too much for my taste. I'm waiting for the Hilt to become available.
 
I think we should be able to keep are reveiws of magazines civil. I personally know Anthony Lombardo, a Tactical Knives writer. I beleive him to be a very reasonable person. I would in know way characterize him as a wanabe. I have been a long time reader of Tactical Knives and find it to be very well written. If some one does not like a particular magazine, they should be able to be at least subjective, as apposed to down right insulting. Like my mother always say "if you can't say anything nice, please do not say anything at all"

------------------
Lynn Griffith-Tactical Knifemaker
Winner of "Best Tactical Knife" at 1999 PKA show
My website
See my award winning "Spec Ops Tanto" in Gallery 3 of my website
GriffithKN@aol.com
Discounts to Police and Active Duty Military


 
Au contraire my fellow forumites. TK is a symptom of a very stupid trend that glorifies the weapons side of the tools we all call knives.

I know of where I speak on this one. I am not someone who hasn't ever read TK. I am looking at the Nov 1999 issue right in front of me. It has two versions of the REKAT Carnivour on the front.

I begin with the layout of the cover:
Top--"STREET SMARTS: 3 Mobility Drills to Save Your Life! Exclamation point? Really now, objectively ask yourself when the last time you were in a knife fight was or calculate your odds of getting into one at all and get back to me. This breathless dreck is merely copying the very worst traits of the gun mags.

Next: The title--TK The Cutting Edge of Survival. Survival of what pray tell? Who is this title and image supposed to appeal to?

Next: The photo layout of the REKATs looks like any one of a thousand gun mag covers with matching blued and stainless revolvers. Not that this is bad in and of itself, but I think people should ask themselves whether they want knives portrayed stylistically and attitudinally as guns have been only to see eventual trouble from the granola eating set. Personally, I think going down the well-worn overly testosterone soaked path of the gun industry is a very stupid move and one that doesn't keep an eye on current events.

Inside: Mr. Steven Dick (same as my critic? he didn't bother to disclose) writes a fairly decent piece on the Carnivours which actually ventures towards some legitimate criticism of these knives which is commendable.

Street Smarts--This entire department is irresponsible and could get someone killed someday. It should always be fronted with a preface that says, "Warning! Relying on training tips you may practice out of this magazine is for idiots only" and then write the piece. That really "just might keep you alive in a serious knife altercation."

My main beef with the Kopromed piece is not bothering to find out just what exactly "highly alloyed stainless steel hardened to RC 56-58" is. That would be more helpful than woodsy folklore, or is it folksy woodlore?

The Steel Bin: No complaint here, The main complaint with the Collecor's Corner is that here is one place color should be used as it is not just anywhere one can see a rare knife. The Keen Edge is usually the best department in TK.

I didn't enjoy the piece on the Firestone Belt Axe, but that is a personal preference as I do not like extraneous articles that are tangentially knife related. I can read about axes, (and spears, swords, clubs, batons, sprays, flashlights, kubotans, and on and on and on), elsewhere.

Book Reviews: Cursory at best. Does Mr. Dick really edit an entire magazine, write articles, and read three books a month? It is possible, but probably not at any depth on the reading.

The Swat II; PUHLEEEZE. More glorification of the Rambo set. And yes, the trunk is most likely where that knife will see duty.

No complaint with Make Mine Automatic. Then there is the ubiquitous "Vicious Russian 'Top Secret'" SCARS-like crap. Why the editor is subjecting his readership to four pages of adverts concerning combat malpractice on tapes is beyond me. Well, it is not really. Must be the money. Who cares if some of the readers fall for the scam? No credibility left that anyone at TK cares where the readership's money winds up. Anyone who doesn't think the editorial staff has the final say over the advertisements printed in a publication needs a reality check. That those ads are filled with demonstrable falsehoods only makes matters worse. I can only guess that fake combat systems fits well into the overall tone of TK.

Jeff Randall's pieces are always welcome wherever I find them because he actually uses and abuses the knives he writes about without a bunch of concocted backyard tests.

Then there is SCARS. Who lets this stuff into a magazine I wonder? Whose image least benefits from being associated with Jerry Peterson? It sure ain't Blade or KI.

Anyway, blah, blah, blah. I am not going through the entirety of the November issue because it was admittedly better than the others I have seen. Still, the overall look, read, and direction of TK is deplorable. I can only await the "TK Stopping Power Index" in some future issue after the public gets bored comparing the tactical look and features of knives and demands fabric coated gelatin tests and then comparative pig stabbings or goat killings timed with a stop watch. If that seems farfetched, that is precisely where the gun crowd has taken their fascination with lethality. Where did that demand come from? You get one guess.

So no, I don't think I'll be going to Eugene. It is not that I am afraid to say "hi," rather it is that I just don't care. If you want to sit and bask in the fawning affection of sycophants, you're obviously getting that here. Don't let a lone voice in the wilderness saying that your dragging the "knife scene" in the wrong direction get under your skin or dissuade you from eventually getting carry knives banned because the general public will rightly or wrongly view TK as the Bible of the concealed carry/knife fighting mindset. That isn't worth some thought until it is too late and the drumbeat from the weapons-phobes inexorably starts is it?

So I guess in short it is not usually the writing in TK that offends, it is the shortsightedness of the people at the helm promoting the warrior ethos. Preaching to the choir isn't really necessary and at best serves to create a distorted picture of knife aficianados in the eyes of the casual observer. Doubt me? Take a TK through a checkstand at a grocery store. Choose a female checker and let her get a good look at the TK while you pretend to hunt cash and change out of your pocket. Concentrate on her reactions and you see where this tactical obsession is headed the moment the liberal politicians are through with the gun crowd.

I guess if people want to reward driving an industry off the eventual cliff that is their choice. Their mistake is that they think everyday people would think that TK is as "cool" as they think it is. Big mistake.

[This message has been edited by lawdog (edited 20 September 1999).]
 
I like em all. Tactical gets the most dog-eared after a while. I also like Knives Illustrated for their great pics and in -depth maker profiles.I don`t forget that they are just MAGAZINES and as such do not have total mind control over my actions.That is my wife`s job
David
AKTI#150

[This message has been edited by davidb415 (edited 20 September 1999).]
 
Mr. Law Dog,
Sorry I didn’t add "Editor in Chief Tactical Knives" but then it is on my member profile. Why is it the most serious critics posting the web always go by pen names?
Maybe you should let us know what kind of articles you are interested in? I take it hunter’s hatchets isn’t it either.
Funny thing about Bob Kapser’s guaranteed to get you killed techniques. He just co-authored the new USMC close-combat manual. Bunch of wannabe badasses, of course.

Steven Dick, Editor in Chief Tactical Knives
 
I subscribe to "Tactical Knive" magazine and pick up "Combat Knives" when it publishes (twice/year?).

I just renewed my TK subscription, but the expiration date didn't update for one year. I hope I get the next issue.

Axel
 
Yeah, Mark Twain was less of a man for using a pen name. I am NOT comparing myself to Twain, but he didn't have an e-mail address that he liked to keep clear of spam or flamers. Why can't we just have it out here Mr. Dick? Sorry for not profiling you before dissing your mag, but I assume all of the posters are serious and I do not have to "profile" them to address their points. Is it that personal attacks are more fun when a name is attached? Why do you feel a need to know who I am? I am not Al Gore or anything like that.

First off, I will apologize to most of the the writers of TK. My initial characterization of many of them as wannabe badasses was ill considered and thrown on this page without serious reflection. I attributed to the majority of writers a look and tone of the magazine they are not responsible for. Hey it is the internet and that happens--sorry. However I will stand by everything in my second post.

I don't care if a man were imbued by God with every possible knife fighting technique ever invented, most people do not have the skill, athleticism, nerve, or any other of a dozen or more attributes that will enable them to learn much of anything useful from an article and some still photos. Sorry, Mr. Dick, but even the Marines do live training rather than thumbing a book or magazine, and there is no substitute for live training. I do think that entire "Street Smarts" department contains all of the necessary elements to delude the unwary into thinking they have learned something that THEY rather than only a trained and experienced USMC CQB instructor could successfully employ. All of the overempahsis on the military, the paramilitary, and sticking it to green fighting dummies in TK is what offends me most sir. You can dismiss my off the cuff criticism of the majority of the writing in the magazine, (even I have done so on reflection), but you are primarily responsible for its look, tone, advertising accepted, and direction of it into the future. What is it that you see TK performing for the knife community? We know that I think that you are supplying future fodder for the weapons-phobic, what is your answer to that?

I must be a worrywort to be concerned that image is increasingly becoming reality in this country right?

When can we expect the article on how fast one can expect their opponent to bleed to death? Certainly such info would be useful to a TK reader and an ER doctor to quote isn't too hard to find.

When can we expect the Marshall & Sanow-ish street effectiveness index? Certainly some blades with different features or shapes have killed more effectively than others in actual domestic violence episodes or other such knife combat.

Of course such as above would be in poor taste wouldn't it? But why should anyone assume such things will never appear in TK? After all, "tactical" is but a euphemism for a lot of things (most of them hopelessly juvenile) isn't it? It is only a matter of time before your mag inspires a competitor in print or on the net that will appeal to an ever lower common denominator. But in the end, TK is a Harris Pub and no doubt that helps explain the kissing cousin familiarity TK has with Combat Handguns. No one can outrace a Harris mag to the bottom. Though based in New York, "The New Yorker" they ain't. It has happened before on the gun side of things. G&A became "staid and boring" to a significant percentage of the readership because there just were never enough articles on killing people and advice on how to face off with multiple perps. CH is the response, one also marked by liberal use of the tabloidian exclaimation point!!!!!!!

What I am asking you for is your personal opinion on who you think TK appeals to and what do you envision it becoming in the long term? Who buys secret Russian martial arts or SCARS videos anyway? After all, if TK weren't attracting that demographic they wouldn't be attemptng to sell such stuff in your pages would they? Playboy and Hef always portray the readers of that mag as young, virile, sophisticated, well-dressed, free spending single men, who stood a reasonable chance of landing a supermodel in bed. In reality it is balding, pot-bellied, middle age men looking for a coupon on Rogaine and some mental escape from their wives. How can one tell the differnce between the fantasy reader and the reality reader? Just look at the ads. When that Rogaine ad or that Viagra ad or a "fat reducer pill" ad is in there, one cannot mistake how the readership skews. What is your demo? Why do knives need their own breathless gun-style mag? Who needs to meet "Beautiful, Asian Women seeking marriage overseas?" Losers, that is who. You can dismiss me all you want, but that nagging concern about your magazine's negative effect on the image of knife buyers isn't mine alone. Others have expressed discomfort with the thrust of your mag here on this thread. And these are ostensible knife people, not ones who'd ban our shared interest in a moment had they the power.

THOSE folks would love to use your mag as ammo in some future disinformation campaign and you arm them with every issue. Answer the legitimate concerns of the non-tactical knife fan if you can. Mr. Simonich said recently he won't employ the "T" word anymore. I think the backlash against the word "tactical" is just gaining steam. Had no one in the gun world ever called military pattern rifles "assault rifles," the liberals couldn't have so easily demonized these firearms. So go on ahead and keep stigmatizing certain locking folders and fixed blade knives with the "T" word and wait for that term to appear in an eventual ban in California or somewhere on the East Coast. It will just be the beginning.

For the worse your magazine has enormous potential to tar all knife hobbyists or collectors as bloodthirsty freaks and that potentially concerns some thoughtful people, (not necesssarily me, I am just being reactionary). I know you find me too bothersome to trifle with so answer the concerns of some of your milder critics if you can.

Of course there is nothing wrong with TK's approach is there? Never will be 'till it folds after tactical knives are banned by the squeamish.


[This message has been edited by lawdog (edited 21 September 1999).]
 
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